Recently, electronic registration (ER) of product transactions has become available for the purpose of reducing unauthorized returns of purchased products and/or unauthorized warranty repair on purchased products. Electronic product registrations systems provided for this purpose are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,978,774, 6,018,719 and 6,085,172, the disclosures of which are all incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. The electronic registration system relies on the use of a unique identifier, such as a serial number, for each product that is purchased. The serial number is obtained at the point of sale for inclusion in a registration database, together with other information, such as a date of transaction. This database can then be accessed in connection with an attempted product return/warranty transaction for the purpose of determining if the product qualifies for return/warranty under applicable return/warranty criteria under which the product was originally sold. Such electronic systems may also be used in connection with repair and/or exchange transactions, in addition to returns, by enabling an accurate determination as to whether the product qualifies for any of these actions under the appropriate policies and criteria under which the product was originally sold.
The ER system uses pre-established return/repair policies and procedures that are programmed into the ER system so that the system can perform a check when a product is presented for return to determine if the product qualifies for return, replacement and/or warranty repair based on sales transaction information available in the ER system for the particular product at issue. Thus, known ER systems include a database of return qualification information (or warranty/replacement criteria) for various manufacturer's which enables the system to make an accurate determination with respect to whether or not a product actually qualifies for return (or warranty/replacement) based on the appropriate criteria and at the time the product is actually presented for return. Such ER systems have greatly reduced improper and fraudulent returns and warranty claims.
While such ER systems have proven to be very useful in their current forms, additional improvements in the system are still desired to make such ER systems more flexible in operation in order to benefit customers, retailers and manufacturers. The instant invention provides an improved ER system that has increased flexibility with respect to the particular terms of the return/warranty period or qualification on a product-by-product basis. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the return/warranty qualification information can be customized by the retailer while a customer is at the retailer's facility, or after an agreement has been reached with the customer and the retailer regarding such as change.
As an added feature to ER, this invention allows a retailer, in cooperation with it's vendors, to facilitate a customized return/warranty program while the customer is in the retailer's store (or upon reaching an agreement with the customer regarding such as change). The invention is implemented through software which enables an authorized user of the ER system (such as a store manager) to enter a customized return/warranty program for a particular customer or group of customers that will later be used by the ER system as part of the return qualification information when making a decision as to whether the product qualifies for return/warranty. In other words, the invention enables the store manager or other authorized individual to override or modify the original return qualification information to reflect a modified or customized return/warranty program on a case-by-case basis. The modified or updated return/warranty program is then stored in the ER system for later reference if the product is again returned by the customer for return or warranty.
The invention provides the retailer with the flexibility it may need or desire to satisfy the needs of its customer(s) in certain situations that may warrant a change in the original return/warranty terms existing in the ER system. This customizable return/warranty program feature of the instant invention can also be used to ensure that all products returned to the store within the store's return policy (e.g., 90-days) receive appropriate credit from the vendor. In other words, this customizable feature works for both the customer, retailer and manufacturer by enabling the original terms to be modified appropriately for certain situations that may arise and for which the original terms may not be considered appropriate at a later time for some reason.
The invention further enables store managers to make reasonable exceptions beyond the 90-day or other return/warranty period that they may have, and still receive credit from the vendor with the vendor being in agreement with the change. In other words, the system preferably enables changes to made within predefined limits or guidelines that the retailer and/or manufacturer agree to in advance, so that the changes are available if needed and are pre-approved for use in certain circumstances that may warrant such a change. For example, the invention enables reasonable extensions or changes to be made to the original return/warranty terms based on a situation that the retailer is presented with that may justify such a change in order to meet objectives of the store with respect to customer relations or business objectives. The system also enables the store manager (or other authorized person) to authorize and/or extend repair warranties. Time periods can also be extended for returns back to the manufacturer (e.g., from 150 days to 180 days), to assure that the retailer gets appropriate credit for such returns from the manufacturer.
In accordance with the invention, store managers (or associates) are empowered to authorize and extend repair warranties beyond the original “factory” repair warranty date. This is preferably done with the vendor's cooperation and permission. One benefit of extending a “repair” warranty in the store over taking a product back is that usually there is nothing wrong with products that are being returned. In fact, statistics show that 60-90% of returned products are not defective. Thus, often times the consumer falsely claims that the product is defective and indicates that he would like a refund. However, many times the retailer does not want to alienate the customer or challenge his claim. Thus, by offering a “free” warranty repair for a product for which the original factory warranty already has expired, the retailer unarms the consumer, refuses a return in the nicest way, and because there is often nothing wrong with the product the vendor typically does not incur an expense for the warranty extension. As a result, the retailer and vendor's returns can drop significantly at no or very little additional expense. Also, for those honest consumers who really do have a defective product, the vendor typically wants to accommodate them anyway, and this invention provides convenient flexibility to enable such accommodation.
As will be explained in greater detail below, the invention provides a mechanism that can be used in conjunction with existing ER systems to accommodate customers having a variety of different situations in a manner that typically will satisfy the customer and without causing any additional or significant costs to the vendor or retailer. In this way, the ER system enables the retailer to maintain good relations with all of its customers in a controlled and relatively easy and effective manner, while still enjoying all of the benefits of electronic product registration.